A Simi Valley man enrolled in a residential inpatient program at a San Fernando Valley treatment center after being charged on suspicion of driving under the influence and causing a fatal crash in May.
Gary Edgar Palma Sanchez, 30, submitted evidence he was enrolled in the program in Canoga Park as a reason he was not at his court hearing, according to court records from earlier this month.
Palma is charged with causing a DUI crash while under the influence, which California Highway Patrol officers discovered while they were investigating another collision in the northbound lanes of Interstate 5, south of Calgrove Boulevard, around 2 a.m. May 26.
A 2007 Toyota Corolla driven by Victoria Rodriguez, a 33-year-old Newhall woman, stopped behind a big rig as traffic was slowing, about 200 feet south of where the officers were investigating a previous crash.
Palma Sanchez, 30, failed to stop his 2016 Nissan Frontier truck and crashed into the rear of Rodriguez’s sedan, which crashed into the rear of the big rig, according to the report from CHP officers.
Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel arrived and pronounced the passenger of the sedan, 34-year-old Clay Matthew Rodriguez, of Newhall, dead at the scene of the crash.
A fundraiser set up to support the family reached its goal and then turned off donations after roughly $32,000.
Palma Sanchez admitted to being the lone occupant of the vehicle when it was driven into the back of the big rig, according to a CHP officer’s request for a search warrant to solicit a blood sample from Palma Sanchez.
Officers contacted Palma Sanchez about 11 minutes after the crash, according to the report, and after he was read the “Chemical Test Admonition,” he refused, and ultimately, his blood sample was taken at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. The admonishment basically advises the person that they’re being asked for a voluntary urine sample, which can be refused. “If you do take the test, it cannot be used as the basis for filing any additional charges against you. It can be used by a court for the purpose of sentencing,” according to state law.
His case is due back in court in September to set a date for his preliminary hearing, according to L.A. County Superior Court records available online.
At a preliminary hearing, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office will present its case and the judge will decide if there’s enough to merit a trial.
